Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century by Anthony Sampson, 2005, London: John Murray

Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century by Anthony Sampson, 2005, London: John Murray

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The London //​Guardian//​ published a [[http://​www.theguardian.com/​uk/​2004/​mar/​28/​britishidentity.bookextracts|4,​500 word extract of this book]] in 2004.

The following "​Veracity Index" published by MORI is often referred to:

The following "​Veracity Index" published by MORI is often referred to:

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======Lawyers======

======Lawyers======

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The legal profession is more complex and obscure to the layman than most, and requires more basic explanation of its intricacies. ​ But as a whole, the political influence of the legal profession is in long-term decline. ​ Forty years ago it had much greater collective power to block change than today. ​ At the broad level, it is also worth noting the stark difference in public trust and appreciation between lawyers (who have long been seen as untrustworthy and unaccountable) and judges (who are perceived as vastly more trustworthy than, say politicians or ministers).

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The legal profession is more complex and obscure to the layman than most, and requires more basic explanation of its intricacies. ​ But as a whole, the political influence of the legal profession is in long-term decline. ​ Forty years ago it had much greater collective power to block change than today. ​ At the broad level, it is also worth noting the stark difference in public trust and appreciation between lawyers (who have long been seen as untrustworthy and unaccountable) and judges (who are perceived as vastly more trustworthy than, say, politicians or ministers).

Solicitors naturally come under the most criticism from the public as they deal most directly with them. The number of solicitors in the UK has increased alarmingly by more than four times since the early 1960s. ​ They are also the section of the profession most influenced by the American culture of enormous, escalating and illegitimate fees, particularly in the corporate sector but increasingly in billing government as the importance of human rights cases has grown.

Solicitors naturally come under the most criticism from the public as they deal most directly with them. The number of solicitors in the UK has increased alarmingly by more than four times since the early 1960s. ​ They are also the section of the profession most influenced by the American culture of enormous, escalating and illegitimate fees, particularly in the corporate sector but increasingly in billing government as the importance of human rights cases has grown.